Learning Objectives:
- Describe and explain the collision theory
- Define the activation energy of a reaction
Particles must collide for a reaction; however, these collisions must fulfill these 2 conditions:
- a collision must involve more than a certain minimum amount of energy
- molecules must collide with the correct orientations.
“a collision must involve more than a certain minimum amount of energy”:
The minimum amount of energy that colliding particles must possess to result in a reaction is called the activation energy (Ea).
“molecules must collide with the correct orientations”:
H2(g) + Cl2(g) –> 2HCl(g)